Citizens Access Review of Savings and CD Rates

Keep reading to find out how Citizens Access stands up to its competitors, and whether these accounts might be right for your financial situation.

Citizens Access’s Most Popular AccountsAPY

Account Type

Account Name

Compare Rates from Similar Accounts

0.25%

Savings

Citizens Access Online Savings Account

1.85%

Goldman Sachs Bank USA High-yield Online Savings Account

on Goldman Sachs Bank USA’s secure website

2.50%

CD Rates

Citizens Access Online 12 Month CD

2.70%

Synchrony Bank 36 Month CD

on Synchrony Bank’s secure website

3.00%

CD Rates

Citizens Access Online 3 Year CD

3.00%

Goldman Sachs Bank USA High-yield 5 Year CD

on Goldman Sachs Bank USA’s secure website

Citizens Access online savings account

Citizens Access online CD

Overall review of Citizens Access’s banking products

If all you want is a savings account that earns a super-high interest rate, this is definitely one to consider. There are a few things you need to know before opening an account here, however.

First, you’ll need at least $5,000 to open and establish your account. You can’t deposit cash at this bank, either — you’ll need to find another method, such as depositing the cash into your checking account and transferring it digitally to Citizens Access. Once your account is open, you can let your balance drop as low as you want, but you’ll earn a much smaller interest rate if it dips below $5,000.

This account doesn’t come with ATM access, meaning your only way to access your funds is via online transfer or calling up the bank to request a check. You’re also limited to making just six transfers out of the account per month, due to federal regulation. If you regularly go over this limit, the online bank might choose to close your account.

You can open this account online in about five minutes. You must be a U.S. citizen or resident alien at least 18 years old, and have a U.S. address and Social Security number.

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The high minimum opening deposit, though, might exclude a lot of people who don’t have that kind of money saved from taking advantage of this great offer. That said, some banks and credit unions that are offering the same interest rate or higher have smaller minimum opening deposit requirements. If you can swing the opening deposit requirement, however, this account is definitely one worth opening due to its high interest rate and lack of fees.

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Like the Citizens Access savings account, its CDs also have a high minimum deposit requirement of $5,000. You can opt for your interest, which is compounded daily, to go back into the CD account each month of have it deposited into your Citizens Access savings account or another linked account. If you choose the latter, however, you won’t earn the full APY.

One of the downsides of these CDs is that you can’t make any partial principal withdrawals. If you need the money for some reason, you have to withdraw the whole shebang and close the CD entirely — and pay the early withdrawal penalty on the full amount. This could potentially eat up a lot of your deposit.

Like most other CDs, when this one matures, it will automatically renew for another term. If you want to withdraw the money or make any other changes to the CD, you can do it at the end of its term or anytime during a 10-day grace period after it renews.

You can open a Citizens Access CD online in about five minutes, as long as you’re at least 18 years old and a U.S. citizen or resident alien. You’ll need to provide your Social Security number to complete the application.

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The high minimum deposit amount that is required for CD accounts is a definite con. Too many people can’t come up with that much money so they won’t be able to afford one.

Furthermore, you can’t make a partial withdrawal on these CDs, which is unusual. Most banks will let you withdraw a portion of the money if you need it and still keep the remainder in the CD. But if life happens and you need your money from this CD, you’ll have to close the account and pay a hefty penalty on the entire thing, which means you’ll have even less money to deal with whatever emergency life threw your way.

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It’s great that more banks like Citizens Access are competing in the online space. This competition drives up interest rates, which means more money in your bank account at the end of the day.

Citizens Access caters to the high-balance saver, and it does it well — at least for its savings account. It’s one of the top-yielding savings accounts currently on the market. You might want to pass, however, on the CDs. You can find much higher rates elsewhere, without the heavy-handed, early-withdrawal penalties.

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